The Burger Barn in Dunsmuir, Calif. holds a special place in my heart. I lived directly across from it on Dunsmuir Avenue for two years, a period of time that was important for me. The owners were really friendly to me, and their son -- a very good basketball player at Dunsmuir High -- is an upstanding young man.
If you haven't been to Dunsmuir, it's a really cool town. It's at the apex of the Sacramento River canyon and a fly fishing mecca. The town owes its existence to the railroad -- extra locomotives were needed to help trains over the Mt. Shasta -- and you can still get there via Amtrak.
I took that picture in 2006 after a January snowstorm and contributed it to Burger Barn's photo wall, an impressive collection of mementos from visiting customers. The best is from the U.S. women's olympic soccer team, I'm not sure if it was 2000 or 2004.
Siskiyou County's biggest problem is that there aren't many jobs there anymore. And the ones that are don't pay very well. I had one of those jobs, and had to live pretty lean just to break even. The cost of living in paradise. Even though they were literally across the street, Barn Busters and blackberry milkshakes were for special occasions only.
I've been back to Dunsmuir a few times since moving back to Oregon, and I feel a little twinge in my heart for the place. The place I live now isn't nestled in a pastoral canyon and there's no Amtrak service. But there's enough money in my pocket to easily afford a 1/2-pound hamburger and fries.
Burger Barn isn't the cheapest place around, and they don't accept plastic. Bring cash and bring your appetite.
Note: on the Google map, Dunsmuir's labels are off by about two blocks. Burger Barn is in fact the red-roofed building, not at the corner of Oak Street.
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